News: Dispensing systems

StepDot Valve for Solder Paste

Published by Stefan Kutsch on 10/11/2017

Function

The marco StepDot valve with hybrid drive enables very fast needle dispensing. The requisite movement of the needle – vertically over the dispensing point – is executed by the valve itself. To allow a continuous movement of the robot head, the valve is drawn briefly against the movement of the head resulting in the dispensing needle only stopping briefly over the dot. We call the combination of this movement – from the great precision of the robot – with the great mass of its head and with the fast and small movement of the valve, hybrid drive. The valve controlling the small movements of the dispensing needle is called StepDot. A robot alone typically reaches operating frequencies during needle dispensing of up to 10 Hz – in contrast, the StepDot principle achieves frequencies of up to 100 Hz.

Integration

The marco StepDot valve can easily be flanged onto a robot. The valve is driven via external control electronics which can be mounted on the portal. Parameters are set using special software via Ethernet. Digital inputs on the control electronics trigger the movement and dispensing process.

Advantages

Quick dispensing of solder pastes in small dot sizes (<200 μm)

The fast movements in the z direction compared to the slow movement of the robot save time

High dispensing frequencies with up to 100 Hz possible for contact dispensing

Optimum break off behaviour from synchronised valve and robot movements